


Running Out of Time

by Fungule



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Buried Alive, Daddy Issues, Family Issues, Gen, Injury, Near Death Experiences, Temporary Character Death, Trapped, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fungule/pseuds/Fungule
Summary: Whumptober Day 4 - Running Out of TimePrompts: Buried Alive, Collapsed Building“I’ve really done myself in now, Dickiebird.”“I can’t tell if you’re saying that to be a dick or if you’re serious, Jay…”Jason takes in an audibly shaky breath and really observes his surroundings. There’s no visible way out, the rubble pocket he’s in is collapsing, there’s the remnants of a seven story building on top of him, and he’s not sure how much air there actually is in the rubble. If it’s anything like his coffin or the dirt he once crawled through, not a lot. He was so going to die. “Neither can I.”
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Comments: 17
Kudos: 146
Collections: Whumptober, Whumptober 2020





	Running Out of Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time writing any DC related fic. I hope y'all enjoy!!

This was… This was a fucking bitch. Jason sighs as he looks around him. Rubble was everywhere. He was trapped. Ugh. Explosions in general were, well… He fucking hated them. But being buried alive? That shit was the worst. _Is_ the worst. He just can’t fucking believe that he’s been buried alive _again_. Granted, the circumstances were way different, but holy Hell, Batman. At least he isn’t dead… Again.

He shifts his weight so that he can move his arm freely. The pocket he’s trapped in starts to cave in and it doesn’t escape his notice. “I’m gonna fuckin’ die in here.” He groans as he turns on his ear transmitter. “Red Hood to Nightwing. Can ya read me? Over.”

It takes a few agonizing minutes before he finally gets a response. “Wing to Hood. All good? Over.”

Jason inwardly groans at Dick’s dumbass rhyme scheme. It’s just so fucking cheesey. What the Hell? “Not all good. Ya in Gotham right now?”

There’s a small delay in Dick’s response. Jason wonders if it’s technical or if Dickie might be worried about him… Or maybe because of him. “I am.”

“Did ya see the explosion in West Harlow?”

Dick’s response is immediate and asshole-ish. “What the fuck did you _do_ , Hood?”

But honestly, he’s kinda used to Dick being a huge dick at this point. It’s in the name after all. So instead he just laughs for a bit. It comes out so weak that it almost scares him.

“Jason?” Judging by the use of his name, it scares Dick too.

“I’ve really done myself in now, Dickiebird.”

“I can’t tell if you’re saying that to be a dick or if you’re serious, Jay…”

Jason takes in an audibly shaky breath and really observes his surroundings. There’s no visible way out, the rubble pocket he’s in is collapsing, there’s the remnants of a seven story building on top of him, and he’s not sure how much air there actually is in the rubble. If it’s anything like his coffin or the dirt he once crawled through, not a lot. He was so going to die. “Neither can I.”

There’s a waver in his voice. He knows Dick can hear it. Dick can hear his fear. Usually he’d never let himself be that vulnerable, but… This was different. This time it was different. This wasn’t him holding onto hope that daddy would show up. He hated to admit it, but this was him either asking for help or saying goodbye. There was no fight this time. There was no need for a fight. There was no need for revenge either. Jason dug himself into this hole. Not Joker. Not Bruce. Just Jason.

“I’m on my way there,” Jason hears beyond his thoughts. “Just hang on.”

He smiles slightly at how dumb and brotherly Dickie sounds for once. “You’re the boss,” he spits out before closing his eyes. If he was going to die anyways, he might as well take a nap first.

  
  
  
  


“--HOOD! SAY SOMETHING!”

Jason cracks his eyes open, only to be surprised by his dark surroundings. He’s having the fucking dream again. Not again… 

“JASON, PLEASE!”

Except there’s screaming in his ear. What in the fu--

“TELL ME I’M NOT TOO LATE!”

It all comes back to him. He’s trapped in a collapsed building. Dick is apparently outside. “I’m here. Sorry ‘bout that. Fell asleep.”

“FELL ASLEEP?” Dick sounds fucking angry and Jason can’t even blame him. “You know what, that’s fine. It doesn’t matter right now. I need to figure out where you are. Can you turn on your phone?”

Jason tries to reach his own pant pocket only to discover that his little rubble pocket is a lot smaller than before he took that nap. “No can do, Dickie. No room to reach. Can ya get Babs to do it? She’s gotta have some remote control or somethin’.”

“It might be a few. Try to stay calm while I talk to her, yeah?”

Jason laughs quietly at how worried Dick sounds. “Same goes to ya, Big Bird.”

He hears a slight chuckle before the line goes dead. Now it’s just him and his thoughts. Usually not the best combination, if he’s honest. It’s not like his brain is constantly at war with himself, but his brain isn’t exactly friendly either. But that’s not his fault. How could it be? He’s had to deal with shitty parents, _Bruce_ , villains, the Joker, fucking superhero kids (he fucking hates those sidekicks), and really just Gotham in general. Like, people definitely have it worse than him, but jumping Jesus, Batman, did his life fucking _suck_. Even now he was trapped in a damn collapsed building, buried alive, waiting to fucking die.

He lets out a scream of anger and discovers that was the last thing he should’ve done. Small rocks fall down onto him, followed by a few bigger ones. It doesn’t seem that bad until he feels a sharp pain in his side, along with an awful crunch in his leg. He stifles a blood curdling scream.

Once the pain subsides a bit, Jason angles his head to look at the rest of his body. The fact that he can’t see one leg past the knee terrifies him. But it’s not as scary as the apparent shard of window going through his abdomen. “Oh fuck…”

On the bright side, he can feel his phone start to vibrate. He mentally notes to thank Barbara if he makes it out of this alive. Not even a minute later, Dick’s voice is back in his ear. “Little Wing, you still there?” 

Jason cringes at the nickname. “Don’t call me that, Bird Boy.”

Dick laughs, but Jason can hear the strain in his voice. “Babs got your phone to turn on. I’m pinging the location right now. We’ll get you out soon, okay?”

“ _We’ll_?”

“Well, I will. I’ll get you out of there soon, Jay. I promise.”

He’s not sure if it’s the guilt or the blood pooling out of it, but suddenly Jason feels very sick to his stomach. “Just hurry, yeah?” He says weakly. 

“ASAP.” Dick says before the line is quiet again. Jason’s not sure if Dick’s transmitter is actually off like last time or if he’s just not speaking right now.

As the minutes pass, Jason’s pain begins to fade and his vision starts to swim. “Not good,” he whispers to himself.

“What’s not good?” Dick immediately asks. Turns out his transmitter was still on. 

Jason isn’t sure how to answer in a way that doesn’t freak his brother, because Dick _is_ his brother, out. So “I’m bleeding” is all he states.

Dick is decently smart though (sometimes) and he immediately knows that the issue is much bigger than stated. Then again, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that bleeding after being buried under what used to be a building is probably a bad thing. “How bad?”

“Out.”

Dick makes a strangled noise and Jason prays to God that it’s not a sob. He’s pretty sure, however, that his prayers aren’t answered. “Just stay with me, Jaybird. I’ll have you out in no time.”

Jason can hear Dick trying to find him. It’s not often he sympathizes with his brother, but right now it feels like Dick has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Which is ironic considering Jason is the one in danger of being crushed.

More rocks begin to fall on Jason as Dick sifts through the rubble. It’s only after one hits the glass shard, driving it deeper into him, that he realizes that this really is the end. “Dick…”

“I’m almost there, Jay. What’s up?”

“Thank you…”

“Wha--”

“Thanks for tryin’ to get me outta this mess, I mean… And thanks for everythin’ else too.”

Dick loudly gulps. “Jason, that sounds like goodbye.” 

“It is.” Jason can feel the tears rolling down his own face and he knows they match his brother’s. “I’m not makin’ it outta this one.”

“Shut up! Don’t talk like that!”

Jason can hear the pain in Dick’s voice and suddenly dying feels a lot more real. It’s not like last time. It’s not like last time at all. No one was with him last time. Well, his mom was, but… But now someone who actually cares is here. Someone who loves him is here and he’s still going to die. He often wondered if he still would have died if Batman-- Bruce were there too. This was his answer. Dick wasn’t too late. He was there. Dick came and Jason was still going to die. In so many ways, this death was much worse.

“Dick, I need ya to do something for me.”

“ _No_. You can do it yourself after all of this is over…”

“No, I really can’t. Dick, I need ya to promise me this, even if I live. I’m serious. It’s my last wish.”

It takes his brother a minute to respond. “Fine. What is it?”

“Don’t bring me back. Don’t let anyone bring me back.”

It feels like years before Dick responds this time. “I can’t do that.”

Jason is pissed. He’s fucking furious. He’s honestly never been more angry during his second life. And he’s been so mad he’s killed people _multiple times_ . “What do you mean you _can’t_?”

“You can’t ask me to make sure you stay dead. I refuse.”

Jason knows Dick’s heart is in the right place, but Hell fucking no. “Dick, if I die and don’t stay dead, I promise that I’ll never forgive ya! I went through Hell and back! I’m not doing it again just for your stupid fuckin’ guilt complex! I can’t do it again! I…” He fades off and notices how hard it’s become to breathe. Maybe he shouldn’t be so mad at Dick before he dies… “I can’t go through that pain again, Dick… Not again…”

This time Dick doesn’t respond. And honestly, Jason doesn’t want him to. Instead he just closes his eyes and relaxes. He can hear Dick working through the rubble. Call it a false sense of hope, but he thinks he feels the rubble around him loosening. Maybe Dick _will_ save him. He’s really not sure. All he knows is that he’s tired. He does feel bad for yelling though. “I’m sorry, Dickiebird.”

Faintly in his ear, he can hear his brother yelling at him. But Jason Todd is already asleep.

  
  
  
  


When Jason finally opens his eyes again, he knows exactly where he’s at. He’d recognize the dumbass Batcave any day. It was his home at one point, after all.

He looks around and sees his stupid brother passed out in a chair next to his makeshift gurney. What a dork. “Yo, Dickie. Wake up.”

And Dick is immediately awake and sitting up. It’s almost impressive. “You’re up.”

He nods. “Yep. Up and alive, apparently. Guess I called it too early.”

Dick nods, but doesn’t look Jason in the eye. “Yeah. It helps that you heal ridiculously fast. Your body basically started knitting itself back together once we got the shard out and stopped the bleeding…”

“We?”

“Yeah. I took you here as soon as I got you out. Alfred did most of the work, though.”

“Sounds like Alfred.” Jason sighs and sits up, only wincing a bit. “Where’s the Bats?”

“Mission. You know how it is.”

“That I do. I should probably get outta here before they all come back.”

That gets Dick to actually look at him. “Bruce isn’t mad anymore, you know…”

“It’s not about that,” he lies. It’s totally about that. He can’t fucking stand being Bruce’s problem child and the last thing he’s gonna do is put himself in a position where daddy dearest is gonna yell at him _again_. “I got places to be. Ya know how it is.”

Dick nods again. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

Jason finally manages to get out of bed. He claps a hand on Dick’s shoulder and smiles. “Thanks, Dickiebird. I owe ya.”

“You really don’t, Jay.”

“Nonsense. Ya saved my life.”

Jason swears he sees guilt flash through Dick’s eyes and he’s really not sure what to make of it. “Yeah, I guess I did. Do you need a lift home? I’m going to Blüdhaven anyways.”

“Ah, good ol’ Asbestos Town, USA.”

That brings a small smile to his brother’s face. “Shut up.”

  
  
  
  


It isn’t until Jason is in his own apartment, staring at the mirror, that he notices the source of Dick’s apparent guilt. The bruising on his sternum tells him all he needs to know.

He decides that he’ll forgive Dick this time though.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this fic! Please comment your thoughts! Constructive criticism welcome! ^-^


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